The Indian government is racing against time. And we are not talking about the Coronavirus pandemic. India bears 45 per cent of the global burden of filariasis. Currently, 67 crore people in the country are at risk of contracting the disease, with special danger in 272 districts in 16 states and five Union Territories. “Of the 36 districts in Maharashtra, 18 are endemic for filariasis. These districts are Akola, Amravati, Bhandara, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Gondia, Jalgaon, Latur, Nagpur, Nanded, Nandurbar, Osmanabad, Sindhudurg, Solapur, Thane, Palghar, Wardha and Yavatmal,” says a report by the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

An endemic is a disease regularly found in a particular place or among a particular group of people and is difficult to get rid of. Lymphatic Filariasis (LF or Filariasis) is a disabling disease that is transmitted by mosquitoes. Usually acquired in childhood, filariasis damages the lymphatic system and if left untreated, causes abnormal enlargement of body parts such as hydrocele (abnormal swelling of the scrotum) and lymphedema (swelling in the limbs). A few people also develop chronic cough called Tropical Pulmonary Eosinophilia and can have symptoms like passing of milky white urine (chyluria). Filariasis is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Patients suffering from lymphedema and hydrocele often experience difficulty in carrying out day-to-day activities in their lives, thus affecting their earning capacity and livelihood opportunities. Worse, patients face stigma and discrimination due to the disfiguration.